User interface

ABSTRACT

A method of controlling quality of video data transmitted from a first user terminal to at least one other user terminal in a communication system includes detecting at said first user terminal a condition that indicates that the quality of the video data is below an acceptable threshold; automatically generating instructions based on the detected condition for a user of the first user terminal, said instructions intended to provide a humanly implementable remedy to improve the quality of the video data; outputting the instructions to the user in a humanly comprehensible form; and receiving an input from a user of the first user terminal responsive to the instructions to implement the remedy and thereby improve the quality of the video data.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 or 365 to GreatBritain, Application No. 0718980.6, filed Sep. 27, 2007. The entireteachings of the above application are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for handling video callquality in a communication system.

BACKGROUND

Communication systems link together two communication devices so thatthe devices can send information to each other in a call or othercommunication event. Information may include voice, text, images orvideo.

One such communication system is a peer to peer system, in which aplurality of end users can be connected for communication purposes via acommunications structure such as the internet. The communicationsstructure is substantially decentralised with regard to communicationroute switching therein for connecting the end users. That is, the endusers can establish their own communication routes through the structurebased on exchange of one or more authorisation certificates (useridentity certificates—UIC) to acquire access to the structure. Thestructure includes an administration arrangement issuing thecertificates to the end users. Such a communication system is describedin WO 2005/009019.

Peer-to-peer systems and other communication systems that use theinternet or any other packet switched network employ voice over IP(internet protocol) protocols (VoIP) to transmit data. These systems arecommonly referred to as VoIP systems. VoIP systems are beneficial to theuser as they are often of significantly lower cost than communicationnetworks, such as fixed line or mobile networks, otherwise referred toas public switched telephone networks (PSTN). This may particularly bethe case for long distance calls.

Communication systems employing VoIP, or similar protocols are subjectto many factors which may adversely affect call quality. For example,data packets may be lost when communication data is transmitted acrossthe network, thereby affecting call quality. If the round trip time(RTT) for the data to be transmitted between users is great, a user mayexperience delay in receiving information.

Call quality may also be affected by factors attributable to the deviceon which the user receives data. For example if the device is a personalcomputer (PC), the number of applications running will affect the degreeto which the central processing unit (CPU) may process communicationdata, thereby affecting call quality.

Poor call quality can be frustrating for a caller, and can cause him toseek alternative communication methods.

This problem is particularly apparent during video calls where videodata is transmitted during the call. This is due to the high demandsthat transmitting video data places on network and device resourcescompared to transmitting voice data.

One known solution for improving call quality when video data is beingtransmitted is to instruct the user to close the video applicationduring the call, such that only voice data is thereafter transmittedduring the call. This solution allows greater CPU resources to bededicated to the transmission of voice data thereby improving thequality of the transmission of voice data.

This solution requires the user to close the video application duringthe call. As such the only way the user may improve the call quality isby stopping the transmission of video data. This may not be asatisfactory solution for the user as the user may require that videodata is transmitted during the call.

It is therefore an aim of embodiments of the invention to improve thequality of the transmission of video data during a video call.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of controlling quality of video data transmitted from a firstuser terminal to at least one other user terminal in a communicationsystem, the method comprising the steps of: detecting at said first userterminal a condition that indicates that the quality of the video datais below an acceptable threshold; automatically generating instructionsbased on the detected condition for a user of the first user terminal,said instructions intended to provide a humanly implementable remedy toimprove the quality of the video data; outputting the instructions tothe user in a humanly comprehensible form; and receiving an input from auser of the first user terminal responsive to the instructions toimplement the remedy and thereby improve the quality of the video data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda user device in a communication system, said user device having meansfor transmitting video data to at least one other device in thecommunication system, the user device comprising means for: detecting acondition that indicates that video data quality is below an acceptablethreshold; means for automatically generating instructions based on thedetected condition for a user of the at least one node, saidinstructions intended to provide a humanly implementable remedy toimprove the video data quality; means for outputting the instructions tothe user in a humanly comprehensible form; and means for receiving inputfrom a user of the user device responsive to the instructions toimplement the remedy and thereby improve the video data quality.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided acomputer program product comprising program code means which whenexecuted by a computer implement the steps according to the method ofany of claims 1 to 20.

In particular the invention relates, but not exclusively to providing aninterface to enable a caller to control the video call quality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how thesame may be carried into effect, embodiments of the present inventionwill now be described with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a communication system;

FIG. 2 shows a user device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a client stack; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a display screen according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will first be made to FIG. 1, in a communication network 100.The communication network includes network 104 such as the Internet. Ina preferred embodiment of the invention data may be transmitted via thenetwork 104 using a peer to peer system. It should be appreciatedhowever that even though the exemplifying system shown and described inmore detail uses the terminology of a peer to peer system, embodimentsof the present invention can be used in any other suitable form systemcapable of transmitting data over a network.

A user terminal 102 is shown connected to the network 104. The userterminal may be, for example, a personal computer, a gaming device, apersonal digital assistant, a suitably enabled mobile phone, atelevision or other device able to connect to the network 104. The userterminal 102 is connected to the network 104 via a network port 105, andmay be via a cable (wired) connection or a wireless connection.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the user terminal 102 in more detail. The userterminal 102 comprises client software 112, a CPU 122, a keyboard 124, acamera 126, a camera driver 128, a display 130, and a display driver132.

The client software 112 is executed on the CPU 122 in the user terminal102 and is used to connect to the peer to peer system operating on theinternet 104. A user interface of terminal 102 such as the display 130may be controlled by the client software program 112, hereinafterreferred to as the client, to display user facilities and to indicateevents occurring, such as an incoming call. According to an embodimentof the invention the client 112 may also be arranged to displayinstructions as will be described hereinafter.

The camera 126 is used to capture video data to be transmitted via theinternet during a video call. The camera driver 128 is executed on theCPU 122 and is used to operate the camera 126. The camera is connectedto the camera driver 128 via a universal serial bus port (USB port).

The display is used to display video data received from another userdevice during a video call with the other user device. The display isalso used to display events and humanly readable instructions generatedby the client 112. The display is controlled by the display driver 132executed on the CPU 122.

The client 112 has a number of different components or layers forimplementing various functions, including a protocol layer 402 (FIG. 3)for managing the network interface. In one embodiment of the inventionthe protocol layer may be used to monitor the some of the video callquality parameters.

FIG. 3 shows a client stack according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown the client protocol layer sits on top of theoperating system 401 of the device. Above the protocol layer 402 is theclient engine 404. The client engine 404 is used to control the clientuser interface layer 406. The client user interface layer controls theuser interface of the device. For example the client user interfacelayer is arranged to control the operation of the display 130 via thedisplay driver 132. The control of the client user interface 406 will beexplained in more detail hereinafter.

A user of a second user terminal 110 can make a video call to the userof the user terminal 102 across the network 104. To initiate the videocall, the second user 108 can click on the contact listed for the user106 operating terminal 102 displayed in a client running on the seconduser terminal 110 similar to the client running on the user terminal102. Alternatively the user 108 can type in a number or username for theuser 106. The client then sets up the video call to the user 106. Thecall may be made using VoIP, in accordance with methods known in theart, such as disclosed in WO 2005/009019. The video call may comprise acombination of video data with any of voice, instant messaging (“IM”) orshort message service (SMS) data.

In an alternative embodiment the second user terminal 110 may beconnected to a different network such as a mobile network (not shown inFIG. 1) capable of transmitting video data. If connected to a mobilenetwork, the second user terminal may be a mobile device.

In an embodiment of the invention the client 112 provided on terminal102 is arranged to monitor at the terminal at least one parameterindicative of video call quality. The parameter monitored may bedependent on the type of user terminal.

According to one embodiment of the invention the client monitors the USBbandwidth available to the camera 126 as reported by the camera driver128. The camera driver may be arranged to monitor the USB bandwidthavailable to the camera 126. If the available bandwidth falls below anoptimal USB bandwidth the camera driver 128 is arranged to report thatthe USB bandwidth is below an optimal bandwidth to the client 112.

According to an embodiment of the invention, if the camera driver 128reports that the USB bandwidth is below an optimal bandwidth, the client112 may be arranged to determine that the video call quality is poor.The client may be arranged to report the poor video call quality to theuser and provide the user with instructions to remedy the situation.

In one embodiment of the invention the client engine is arranged tocontrol the user interface to display a video call quality indicator.This may appear as an icon, otherwise referred to as a graphic button302, 303 on a display screen 301 of the terminal 102 as shown in FIG. 4.

If the client engine receives notification from the client protocollayer that the USB bandwidth is below an optimal bandwidth, the clientengine will control the client user interface to display a graphicbutton 303 indicating that the video call quality is poor.

The client engine may also be arranged to control the client userinterface to display a help text message, in a window, notifying theuser of how to remedy the problem. In the case where the user device isa PC, this may be accessed by the user selecting the graphic button 303using a mouse. Alternatively the message may be displayed automatically,together with the video call quality indicator. The message may forexample state that:

‘You're not sending great video right now because you're using other USBdevices. Try disconnecting them or try connecting your webcam to analternative USB port.’

In an alternative embodiment of the invention the client engine may bearranged to control the client user interface to run an audio message tothe user using a speaker in the device describing how to remedy theproblem.

Accordingly the user may disconnect other USB devices, or connect thecamera to an alternative USB port in order to achieve a better videocall quality.

In an embodiment of the invention it is possible to select the degree oftechnical detail described in the help message provided to the user. Forexample the user may be able to select whether or not he or she wants adetailed message by selecting an option provided in a window which isdisplayed when the user selects the graphic button. Alternatively theuser may select an advanced help option in the window showing theoriginal help message. In the case where the problem with thecommunication is detected as being due to the USB bandwidth being belowan optimal bandwidth the advanced message may state for example that:

‘If you have connected your webcam via a USB hub, consider changing to adirect USB connection on your computer to improve video quality.’

According to a further embodiment of the invention the camera driver maybe arranged to report to the client if the USB bandwidth available tothe camera has fallen below a level that is required for the camera tooperate.

If the camera driver 128 reports that the USB bandwidth is below a levelrequired for the camera to operate, the client 112 may be arranged todetermine that the that the camera is unable to provide video call data.The client may be arranged to report this to the user and provide theuser with instructions to remedy the situation. The instructionsdisplayed to the user may for example state that:

‘Your webcam's not working properly because you're using other USBdevices. Try disconnecting them or connect your webcam to an alternativeUSB port’.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the client 112monitors light level as reported by the camera driver 128. The cameradriver may be arranged to monitor the level of light input into thecamera 126. This may be achieved by measuring the intensity of thesignal received from the camera 126. If the light level falls below anthreshold value the camera driver 128 is arranged to report that thelight level is below the threshold value to the client 112.

According to an embodiment of the invention, if the camera driver 128reports that the light level is below a threshold value, the client 112may be arranged to determine that the that the light in the vicinity ofthe camera is too low. The client may be arranged to report this to theuser and provide the user with instructions to remedy the situation. Theinstructions displayed to the user may for example state that:

‘You're not sending great video right now because the light in your roomis quite low. Increase the light level to send a clearer picture.’

Accordingly the user may increase the level of light input into thecamera in order to achieve a better video call quality.

According to one embodiment of the invention the client may be arrangedto additionally or alternatively monitor the proportion of the CPU ofterminal 102 that is used in handling the communication with userterminal 110. The client may also be arranged to additionally monitorthe usage of the CPU by other applications that are not involved inhandling the communication. The amount that the CPU is used byapplications associated with the video call may then be compared to theusage of the CPU by other applications in order to determine if there isa sufficient proportion of the CPU dedicated to handling thecommunication. The client may determine that there is a sufficientproportion of the CPU dedicated to handling the communication bycomparing the monitored amount to a predefined threshold amount.

In one embodiment of the invention, the bit rate of the video data andthe required resolution of the video data may also be used to determineif there is a sufficient proportion of the CPU dedicated to handling thevideo call.

According to an embodiment of the invention, if it is determined that aninsufficient proportion of the CPU is dedicated to handling the videocall, the client may be arranged to control the user interface toindicate to the user that the communication quality is poor. The usermay then be prompted to remedy the situation. In accordance with anembodiment of the invention the client may also provide the user withinstructions for remedying the situation.

If the client engine receives notification from the client protocollayer that an insufficient proportion of the CPU is dedicated tohandling the video call, the client engine will control the userinterface to display a graphic button 303 indicating that the video callquality is poor.

The client engine may also be arranged to control the user interface todisplay a help text message notifying the user of how to remedy theproblem. The message may for example state that:

‘You may be experiencing poor video quality because you seem to berunning a lot of programs on your computer. Try closing some of them andstopping any downloads to free up more space on your computer.’

Accordingly the user may close other applications and terminate anydownloads in order to achieve a better video call quality.

In the case where the problem with the communication is detected asbeing due to usage of the CPU by other applications the advanced messagemay list the applications that are using a high proportion of the CPU.

The client running on the second user terminal 110 which the first userterminal 102 is in communication with may be arranged to display amessage to user 108 indicating that the first user terminal isexperiencing communication problems. This can be communicated to thesecond user terminal 110 via the communications protocol.

If the client running on the first user terminal 102 detects that theCPU usage on the first terminal is high the client running on the firstterminal 102 may be arranged to report this to the client running on thesecond user terminal 110. In response to receiving the report, theclient engine of the client running on the second user terminal 110 isarranged to control the user interface of the second user terminal 110to display a text message explaining the problem, for example themessage may state:

‘Video not great? The person you are talking to has a slow runningcomputer at the moment which might be causing some problems’

According to another embodiment of the invention the client maydetermine whether the user terminal is operating in battery saving mode.Battery saving modes are implemented on battery operated devices such aslaptops to restrict the operation of the device in order to limit thepower consumption of the device. Ordinarily, when a device operates inbattery saving mode, the operation of the CPU is restricted. This willaffect the video call quality.

If the client engine receives notification from the client protocollayer that the device is operating in battery saving mode the clientengine may control the user interface to display a graphic button 303indicating that the video call quality is poor.

The client engine may also be arranged to control the user interface todisplay a help text message instructing a user notifying the user of howimprove the video call quality when the device is operating in a batterysaving mode. The message may for example state that:

‘You may be experiencing problems with Video call quality because yourlaptop seems to be in power saving mode. Change your computer to ACpower or switch your computer to maximum performance.’

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the client engine will alsocontrol the user interface of the first user device 102 to display abutton or link on the screen for receiving an instruction from the userto switch the computer to maximum performance.

If the client running on the first user terminal 102 detects that thefirst terminal is operating in a battery saving mode, the client runningon the first terminal 102 may be arranged to report this to the clientrunning on the second user terminal 110. In response to receiving thereport, the client engine of the client running on the second userterminal 110 is arranged to control the user interface of the seconduser terminal 110 to display a text message explaining the problem, forexample the message may state:

‘Video not great? The person you are talking to has a slow runningcomputer at the moment which might be causing some problems’

According to a further embodiment of the invention the client isarranged to monitor the packet loss for the communication. Packet lossmay be monitored by keeping track of the number of packets sent, andperiodically receiving information from the other party indicating thenumber of packets received. By comparing these two numbers, it ispossible to deduce the number of packets lost in communication, andcalculate the packet loss as the ratio between packets lost and packetssent.

If it is determined the packet loss exceeds a threshold, the client maybe arranged to control the user interface to indicate to the user thatthe communication quality is poor. In accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention the client may also provide the user with instructions forremedying the situation.

If client engine receives notification from the client protocol layerthat the loss of data packets is too high, the client engine willcontrol the user interface to display a graphic button 303 indicatingthat the video call quality is poor.

The client engine may also be arranged to control the user interface todisplay a help text message, in a window, notifying the user of how toremedy the problem. The message may for example state that:

‘You may be experiencing vide call quality problems. Closing otherapplications may improve your call quality.’

The client running on the second user terminal which the first userterminal 102 is in communication with may be arranged to display amessage indicating that the first user terminal is experiencingcommunication problems.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the client isarranged to detect the local NAT (Network Address Translation) routerinvolved in the video call.

Two NAT types will be referred to herein: suitable and unsuitable,expressed in relation to send quality communications between computers.

If it is determined the local NAT type is unsuitable, the client may bearranged to control the user interface to indicate to the user that thevideo quality is poor. In accordance with an embodiment of the inventionthe client may also provide the user with instructions for remedying thesituation.

If client engine receives notification from the client protocol layerthat the local NAT type is unsuitable, the client engine will controlthe user interface to display a graphic button 303 indicating that thevideo call quality is poor.

The client engine may also be arranged to control the user interface todisplay a help text message notifying the user of how to remedy theproblem. The message may for example state that:

‘You may be experiencing video call problems. Please redialfor betterquality.’

In the case where the problem with the communication is detected asbeing due the detected NAT type the advanced message may state forexample that:

‘Your video calls are relayed through the internet. Video call qualitycould be poor if your router configuration prevents the applicationhandling your video call from achieving the optimum relay for videocalls. For better call quality you could change your firewall or routersettings. An online guide will help you do this, or you can seek thehelp of your system administrator.’

The client running on the second user terminal which the first userterminal 102 is in communication with may be arranged to display amessage indicating that the first user terminal is experiencingcommunication problems.

The user of terminal 102 may then either redial immediately or changefirewall and router settings of the device before redialling in order toimprove the quality of the video call with the user of terminal 110.

According to a further aspect of the invention the client is arranged todetect whether or not the received data stream is direct User DatagramProtocol UDP in addition to detecting the local NAT router type.

If it is determined that the received data stream is not direct UDP andthe local NAT type is detected as being unsuitable, the client may bearranged to control the user interface to indicate to the user that thevideo call quality is poor. In accordance with an embodiment of theinvention the client may also provide the user with instructions forremedying the situation.

If client engine receives notification from the client protocol layerthat the received data stream is not direct UDP and the local NAT typeis detected as being unsuitable, the client engine will control the userinterface to display a graphic button 303 indicating that the video callquality is poor.

The client engine may also be arranged to control the user interface todisplay a help text message notifying the user of how to remedy theproblem. The message may for example state that:

‘If you are experiencing call problems this may be because your videocall application may have restricted access to the internet. Pleasereview your firewall or security settings to ensure that the video callapplication is not restricted from accessing the internet.’

Alternatively the user may select an advanced help option in the windowshowing the original help message. In the case where the problem withthe video call is detected as being due the detected NAT type theadvanced message may direct the user to an website which providesinformation on how to remedy the problem. The message may state forexample that:

‘To learn more about changing your firewall settings please consult ouronline guide to firewalls. Our guide will tell you how to optimise yoursettings.’

The client running on the second user terminal which the first userterminal 102 is in communication with may be arranged to display amessage indicating that the first user terminal is experiencingcommunication problems.

The user of terminal 102 may then either redial immediately or changefirewall and router settings of the device before redialling in order toimprove the quality of the video call with the user of terminal 110.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the client isarranged to monitor the local bandwidth of the network connection.

If it is determined that the local detected bandwidth is below apredefined threshold, for example less than 150 Kb/sec (Yellow) or 45Kb/sec (Red) the client may be arranged to control the user interface toindicate to the user that the video call quality is poor. In accordancewith an embodiment of the invention the client may also provide the userwith instructions for remedying the situation.

If client engine receives notification from the client protocol layerthat the local bandwidth of the network connection is too low, theclient engine will control the user interface to display a graphicbutton 303 indicating that the call quality is poor.

The client engine may also be arranged to control the user interface todisplay a help text message notifying the user of how to remedy theproblem. The message may for example state that:

‘You may be experiencing problems with video due to slow internetconnection. Try closing other applications that use the internet, orconsider getting a broadband connection.’

In the case where the problem with the video call is detected as beingdue slow internet connection the advanced message may state for examplethat:

‘Recommended bandwidth for video calls is 512 Kb/sec downstream 256Kb/sec and upstream (ADSL). Closing other applications that use internetmay improve the video quality.’

Accordingly the user can review their network connection and switch to abroadband connection for better call quality.

If the client running on the first user terminal 102 detects that thefirst terminal has a low bandwidth connection, the client running on thefirst terminal 102 may be arranged to report this to the client runningon the second user terminal 110. In response to receiving the report,the client engine of the client running on the second user terminal 110is arranged to control the user interface of the second user terminal110 to display a text message explaining the problem, for example themessage may state:

‘Video quality not great? The person you're talking to has a slowinternet connection which might be causing some problems.’

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the user terminalmay be arranged to transmit video data to a plurality of user devices,or to a conference host in a video conference call.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood to thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined by theclaims.

1. A method of controlling quality of video data transmitted from afirst user terminal to at least one other user terminal in acommunication system, the method comprising the steps of: detecting atsaid first user terminal a condition that indicates that the quality ofthe video data is below an acceptable threshold; automaticallygenerating instructions based on the detected condition for a user ofthe first user terminal, said instructions intended to provide a humanlyimplementable remedy to improve the quality of the video data;outputting the instructions to the user in a humanly comprehensibleform; and receiving an input from a user of the first user terminalresponsive to the instructions to implement the remedy and therebyimprove the quality of the video data.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1further wherein the video data transmitted from the first user terminalis captured for transmission by a camera connected to said first userdevice.
 3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the condition relatesto a characteristic of the video data received from the camera.
 4. Amethod as claimed in claim 2 wherein the camera is connected to thefirst user terminal via a USB connection.
 5. A method as claimed inclaim 4 wherein the condition relates to an available bandwidth of theUSB connection between the camera and the first user device.
 6. A methodas claimed in claim 5 wherein the step of detecting at said first userterminal a condition that indicates that the quality of the video datais below an acceptable threshold comprises detecting that the availablebandwidth is below a predetermined threshold.
 7. A method as claimed inclaim 7 wherein if it is detected that the available bandwidth is belowa predetermined threshold the user is instructed to increase theavailable bandwidth of the USB connection between the camera and thefirst user device.
 8. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein thecondition relates to the intensity of light in the video data capturedby the camera
 9. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the step ofdetecting at said first user terminal a condition that indicates thatthe quality of the video data is below an acceptable threshold comprisesdetecting that the intensity of light in the video data captured by thecamera is below a predetermined threshold.
 10. A method as claimed inclaim 9 wherein if it is detected that the intensity of light in thevideo data is below a predetermined threshold the user is instructed toincrease the light captured by the camera.
 11. A method as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the step of detecting at said first user terminal acondition that indicates that the quality of the video data is below anacceptable threshold comprises detecting that a capacity of a processorused to process the video data at the first user terminal is below apredetermined threshold.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein ifit is detected that the capacity of the processor used to process thevideo data at the first user terminal is below the predeterminedthreshold the user is instructed to close any applications running onthe processor that are not involved in handling a communicationassociated with the transmission of the video data.
 13. A method asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the step of detecting at said first userterminal a condition that indicates that the quality of the video datais below an acceptable threshold comprises detecting that a bandwidth ofa connection between the first user device and the communication systemis below a predetermined threshold.
 14. A method as claimed in claim 13wherein if it is detected that the bandwidth of the connection betweenthe first user device and the communication system is below apredetermined threshold the user is instructed to close any applicationsthat use the connection between the first user device and thecommunication system that are not involved in handling a communicationassociated with the transmission of the video data.
 15. A method asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the condition relates to the type of routerused in the transmission.
 16. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein thehumanly comprehensible instructions are displayed in humanlycomprehensible text form.
 17. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein thehumanly comprehensible instructions are output in humanly comprehensibleaudible form.
 18. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the remedy is aphysical act carried out by the user.
 19. A method as claimed in claim 1wherein when if a condition is detected at the first user device thatindicates that the quality of the video data is below an acceptablethreshold, information is provided to the at the at least one other userterminal indicating a poor quality condition.
 20. A method as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the communication system is a packet switchedcommunication system.
 21. A user device in a communication system, saiduser device having means for transmitting video data to at least oneother device in the communication system, the user device comprising:means for detecting a condition that indicates that video data qualityis below an acceptable threshold; means for automatically generatinginstructions based on the detected condition for a user of the at leastone node, said instructions intended to provide a humanly implementableremedy to improve the video data quality; means for outputting theinstructions to the user in a humanly comprehensible form; and means forreceiving input from a user of the user device responsive to theinstructions to implement the remedy and thereby improve the video dataquality.
 22. A computer program product comprising program code meanswhich when executed by a computer implement the steps according to themethod of claim 1.